Has anybody used these? The idea of not having to use lube appeals to me.

As long as you follow the instructions, they work as advertised, that is, flawless.

In combination with a Redding body die, they are my abolute favorite. A little polishing helps, sometimes, but in my case it was not necessary. JMO, Dutch.

When set up properly (follow directions) they are great. Right now I use them for all my hunting rounds and can not say enough good about them.

Thanks for the reply's. I am glad to hear good things because I just ordered the 7x57 and the 7 rem mag. I was hoping someone would have good things to say about them.

Another advantage of the collet dies is that they work for standard and AI versions of the same cartridge. Using washers for spacers it is also possible to use them for longer cartridges of the same fmily. For example, the .222 Rem Collet Die will also work for the .223 Rem.

Count me in as a fan of the Lee collet neck dies also. They work great and make really straight and accurate ammo.

Yep, they do work pretty slick for most of us, no question. One trick many of us do is to size the neck, lower the ram, give the case a one-eighth turn and run it back up.

If you size the brass on this die once, then examine it, you'll be able to see/feel four spots where the collett fingers mashed the brass against the mandrel. When you rotate the brass, the goal is to get the collett fingers to press on "unmashed" areas of the neck, if you will.

I have a nice Sinclair runout gauge that I've been using to run concentricity tests on various of my dies. From the evidence, I can't say definitively that this two-step process in the collett die reduces runout, but that's mostly because the first step seems to work so danged well. Hope some of this made sense and helps you. You'll love the die.

I'll add to the din too here. They work excellent and are priced great as well. I picked mine up after reading some of the previous posts here from Delta Hunter. My Redding bushing neck sizing die is collecting dust.

I am currently trying to run some test to compare the accuracy of collet dies to full length dies. The collet dies are really slick in terms of "easy."

One point, you must follow the directions regarding setting them. However, the amount you screw the die down varies depending upon the caliber, ie, they are not all the same! READ THE DIRECTIONS! Ku-dude

I really like the dies also.The bullet seater in the set is excellent compared to the pacesetter bullet seater.Get a factory crimp die to go with your set just to snug the bullet a little.It is worth it.As near perfect ammo as a person can get.Very uniform performance shot after shot.After 8 firings my brass has still not "grown" in length but will full length size and trim on this loading session just for safety`s sake.It will cut your loading time in half.

Being a staunch Redding/RCBS man, I've never really used the Lee dies, but, recently got a collet model for 7-08. After reading this thread, I figured I'd try it out last night.

I read/followed the directions, although I was a little confused about the part where they tell you to turn the die down another one or two revolutions after it contacts the shell holder. It said to do that so you could "feel" the collet action without dealing with an over center condition, as you can get with the Rockchucker. I'm guessing the collet squeezes the neck of the case against the sizing stem? Well, when I run the case up in there, it goes so far, and "clank", it just stops. The instructions say you have to apply 25 lbs of pressure - well I'm not sure if it was 25# or not, but, I was bending the top of the loading bench pretty good. Did it do anything? I didn't feel anything happening, and, there are no collet marks on the outside of the neck, only the very end of the case. I tried the case in the rifle it came from, and it fit okay. It looks like there's enough neck tension, but, is the neck only sized at the very end?

R-WEST

I just set it till it hits the shellholder and deprime and size then take out the case and see if there is enough neck tension by sticking a bullet down the neck.If not I screw the die in and repeat till I get what I want.I advise to crimp(snug the bullet) with the Factory Crimp Die lightly because ya can`t get the same neck tension every time.I know I can`t tell if it`s 25lb or 100 pounds of pressure.You can tell after seating a few bullets that some go in easier than others.That is why I use the Crimp Die...takes all the guess out of it.Go to Leeprecision.com and it has a pic of the collet die cutaway with a case in it.All I know is that I like the system a lot.

Tula describe it well--a little trial and error and you'll get the "feel" of how much neck tension. I took a marker and put a dot on the top of the die. If I remember right my strategy is to give the die one turn after the o-ring on the bottom of the die starts to hit the press. The dot on the top of the die makes it easy to make exactly that one turn. Then I go from there with minor adjustments.

Yes--it does take considerable force and camming action to get pretty good neck tension--escpecially on molly bullets.

I just tried mine for the first time (308) and have the same deal as R-WEST. The primer popped out but I felt NO resistance at all after that. I think I could flip the metal work bench over or ruin the die before it crimps down. I felt like I followed the directions exactly. I would like to use these but I just don't get it. I went back to my Redding NS die and finished the batch I was working on. I won't give up...

Keith

Here's my experience:
I've got Lee collet dies in four calibers; one is even from their custom shop in 338-06 Ackley Improved. This is no BS; they're the easiest to use and produce the most accurate ammo. All that and at a reasonable price. My hat's off to whoever designed it!
I use them in a Dillon RL550B press. I believe it's got the same mechanical advantage as the RCBS Rockchucker. Every instruction sheet I've got is the same; from .224 to .338. And they don't say anything about 'camming over the center' like the FAQ's on their website. That must be something new. My dies are almost a dozen years old. But they're different in that the collet die slides into the die body. Like kraky, I mark a reference on the outside die body. Make sure the collet isn't collapsed inside the die body, cause if it is you can push the press handle 'till the loading bench tips over and nothing's gonna happen. Raise the shellholder. Screw in the die until the collet touches it. Check your reference mark. Lower the shellholder and screw down the die 1 complete turn. Snug the locknut a little. Try resizing a case. "When you have reached a point where there are vertical striation marks on the outside of the case neck or the intended bullet does not fit easily into the case neck, the correct amount of pressure has been achieved." I don't think it takes anything near 25 pounds to get the collet to snap shut at the top of the press stroke. Maybe that's cause my dies are a little 'loosey-goosey' after thousands of rounds of ammo. I also place a mark on the case body at the extractor groove. Like the instructions say: ...for greater accuracy, rotate the case one-half turn and size the case a second time.
Partial neck sizing can be done by this technique:
"If you want to resize just a part of the neck, find a washer at your local hardware store that has an inner diameter large enough to fit over the case, and an outer diameter large enough so that it contact the collet sleeve that protrudes from the bottom of the die. Slide this washer over the case after the case has been inserted into the shell plate. Now when the ram is raised, you can still close the collet by applying force at the top of the stroke, but the case will not go up as far into the collet, and the neck will be sized less an amount equal to the thickness of the washer."
Let's hear how ya'll make out once you make the proper adjustments. Believe me, it WILL be worth it.

[ 11-30-2002, 18:02: Message edited by: onefunzr2 ]

R-west, it took me a long time to get a "feel" for the sizing action. It's normal not to "feel" the sizing, especially on tight necks. Check with a bullet to see if the neck sized or not.

It does NOT take that much pressure. My 9 year old has no problem with it, just pushing down. HTH, Dutch.

>Make sure the collet isn't collapsed inside the die body

How can I see this has happened and how to fix it ? I experience the same 'problems' with a .222 collet die.

The "Death length Bullet Seater" accompanied with the "Lee collet Die" states in the documentation it does not crimp the bullet. Is it necessary to buy a factory crimp for the caliber ?
Usage : 7-08 FN Bolt Action rifle, single shot.

I've had excellent results with the collet dies in .308, 30-06, and .338WinMag.

I initially discovered that the "feel" is very subtle. Doesn't take a whole lot of torque. Also, deburring/chamfering the case mouths lets them enter the die much easier.

MM